DUBLIN, CALIFORNIA — A longtime Dublin Italian restaurant has quietly closed its doors after serving the community for 27 years.
Rigatoni’s has permanently closed its restaurant at 7350 Dublin Boulevard, near the Interstate 680 overpass. The familiar brick-fronted building is now dark, and the Dublin location has been removed from the restaurant company’s website.
A notice posted at the entrance reportedly thanked customers for their “support over these past 27 years here in Dublin.”
The company did not announce a final day in advance, and no detailed explanation for the closure has been released. There is also no public word yet on what could replace Rigatoni’s in the prominent Dublin Boulevard space.
A Familiar, Family-Friendly Italian Restaurant
For generations of local families, Rigatoni’s offered Italian food rooted in multigenerational family recipes, served in a quick and casual format.
The restaurant described itself as a “Fresh Italian Grill,” combining elements of a traditional sit-down Italian restaurant with the convenience of ordering at the counter.
Its menu included familiar dishes such as spaghetti and meatballs, house-made lasagna, chicken parmesan, fettuccine Alfredo and rigatoni Bolognese. Diners may also remember its self-serve bread and olive oil station, which became one of the restaurant’s most distinctive features.
Rigatoni’s was part of a family-owned restaurant group led by Ray Bartolomucci Jr., who also owns the more formal Strizzi’s restaurants.
The family’s restaurant history stretches back much further than the Dublin location. Luciano and Assunta Strizzi immigrated from Villa Santa Maria, Italy, and opened an Italian deli in the United States during the 1920s. The family’s sauces and pasta recipes were subsequently passed down through multiple generations.
Bartolomucci opened the original Strizzi’s restaurant in San Leandro in 1986. Rigatoni’s was later developed as a faster and more affordable variation on the same Italian family traditions.
The first Rigatoni’s opened in Castro Valley, followed by restaurants in Dublin and Hayward.
Dublin Closure Leaves Just One Rigatoni’s
The Dublin closure leaves Castro Valley as the only remaining Rigatoni’s location.
That restaurant remains open at 20680 Rustic Drive, where customers can still order many of the dishes previously served in Dublin. The company is also continuing to offer takeout, catering and party pans.
Three sister Strizzi’s restaurants remain open in downtown Pleasanton, downtown Livermore and Fremont.
The restaurant group has gradually reduced its footprint in recent years. Its Hayward Rigatoni’s location on Hesperian Boulevard also closed in 2026. Rigatoni’s Red Smoke Grill, formerly located in Pleasanton’s Hacienda Business Park, closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The original San Leandro Strizzi’s closed in 2005, although the Pleasanton restaurant is approaching 37 years on Main Street.
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The End of a 27-Year Dublin Tradition
Rigatoni’s survived dramatic changes in Dublin during its nearly three decades on Dublin Boulevard.
The city grew rapidly around it, adding tens of thousands of residents and transforming into one of the East Bay’s largest restaurant and retail destinations. Through those changes, Rigatoni’s remained a familiar option for family dinners, casual lunches, takeout orders and catered gatherings.
Its closure removes one of the area’s longest-running locally owned restaurants — and another piece of the older Dublin that existed before the city’s explosive growth.
Customers who want to continue supporting the family-owned company can visit the remaining Rigatoni’s in Castro Valley or one of the three Strizzi’s restaurants.
For now, however, the lights are out at 7350 Dublin Boulevard after 27 years.
